There are five towns along the Italian coast just south of Genoa which are known as the Cinque Terre. We stayed in the northern most one, Monterosso. Monterosso is the largest of the five towns, has the only real sand beaches. It is also the easiest to park at if you are driving.
We did a morning hike down the coast to Vernazza for lunch and a swim. Although we were there at the start of the shoulder season (late September) the hiking trail was still crowded, the narrower steep sections bumper to bumper people.
